NEW DELHI -- India's ruling coalition was thrown into turmoil after an Indian Web site said its reporters videotaped top political figures talking about or accepting money in a defense-procurement scandal. But coalition members emerged from a crucial political huddle late Wednesday expressing support for the prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, indicating the government isn't at risk of falling.

Tehelka.com triggered the crisis after it described a months-long sting operation by its reporters to see how close they could come to selling a fictitious device -- a thermal camera -- to the Indian military. This is a rare scandal for Mr. Vajpayee's party, which has enjoyed a reputation for relative probity in a country where political corruption is considered commonplace.

A number of observers said the ruling coalition should endure, barring new revelations harmful to Mr. Vajpayee or his defense minister, George Fernandes. "Fernandes may resign, but I don't see anything beyond that, unless they come up with more proof," said Jairam Ramesh, secretary of economic affairs for the Congress Party, India's main opposition party.

Tehelka.com made a name for itself a year ago with another high-profile hidden-camera sting, purporting to show that match-fixing took place in cricket, a popular sport in India. That report was later criticized for its methodology, because the former cricket player who did some interviewing was himself caught up in allegations that he may have been involved in match-fixing. He has denied any wrongdoing. A spokesman for Tehelka.com said the site stands by the story.

Late Tuesday, the president of Mr. Vajpayee's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party stepped down after the videotapes appeared to show him accepting 100,000 rupees ($2,100). Bangaru Laxman, who doesn't hold an elected office, said he accepted money solely as a contribution to the party, the Associated Press reported. He blamed the scandal on a political conspiracy to malign his party.

On Wednesday, Parliament closed its doors early for the day amid shouting and name-calling by opposition lawmakers. The government suspended at least four officials implicated in the affair, and local media reported that one small but influential coalition party had called for the resignation of the defense minister. Some local newspapers also said Mr. Fernandes had offered his resignation on Tuesday. Mr. Fernandes couldn't be reached for comment. The four individuals suspended either didn't return phone calls seeking comment or couldn't be reached.

Tehelka.com's report suggested that a number of military and political officials were willing either to receive money or discuss the prospect. It also suggested that the president of Mr. Fernandes's small coalition party may have accepted money. Officials at the headquarters of Mr. Fernandes's party declined to comment.

India's benchmark stock index rose 5.2% on Wednesday, rebounding from a series of losses in recent sessions stemming from a separate market scandal that last week led to the resignation of the market's president.

Mr. Vajpayee, who most recently took office in 1999, heads one of India's more stable governments in a number of years. He is considered moderately pro-reform on the economic front, and he has maintained an extended cease-fire in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Mr. Fernandes was an important figure in the formation of the current coalition government. He has overseen an increase in Indian military spending, which had fallen markedly in part because of the Bofors military-procurement scandal that prevented the Congress Party government led by Rajiv Gandhi from being re-elected in 1989. That scandal, which centers on payments related to a howitzer purchase, remains in the courts.

In the late 1980s, India spent about 3.6% of gross domestic product on defense, but by 1996 that figure was around 2.1%, according to Jasjit Singh, director of the Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis in New Delhi. Mr. Fernandes took office in 1998, and defense spending is up to around 2.5% of GDP. Mr. Fernandes "had got the Bofors ghost out of the way" so that it no longer was affecting India's military modernization process, says Mr. Singh.

NEW DELHI -- India's ruling coalition was thrown into turmoil after an Indian Web site said its reporters videotaped top political figures talking about or accepting money in a defense-procurement scandal.